Description
This green bean casserole is the ultimate Thanksgiving or Christmas side dish! Crunchy green beans in a creamy mushroom sauce and topped with flavorful onion straws! This recipe is made from scratch, no cans were harmed!
Ingredients
- ONION STRAWS:
- 1/2 cup rice flour
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch/arrow root starch
- 1/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
- 2 medium white onions, thinly sliced, about 1/8th of an inch (use a mandolin or a sharp knife)
- SAUCE:
- 2 tablespoons butter (vegan, if want to keep it dairy free)
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 12 ounces button mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for 6 to 8 hours (or do quick soak method, cover cashews with boiling water for 1 hour, allow to sit for 1 hour)
- 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock (sub vegetable stock to keep vegan, but the chicken stock will make the sauce taste closest to the traditional)
- 1 tablespoon corn starch/arrowroot starch
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- black pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 1/2 pounds frozen green beans, thawed*
Instructions
- ONION STRAWS:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat mat, or lightly grease it, set aside.
- Whisk the rice flour, cornstarch/arrow root starch, cornmeal, sea salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper (optional) in a large bowl until well combined.
- Working in batches mix the thinly sliced onions in the flour until well coated. Tap the excess flour off the onions and place on baking sheet. Repeat until all of the onions are coated in the flour.
- Spread the onions in an even layer. Lightly spray with cooking spray. this helps the onions to get a nice brown color.
- Bake the onions for 30 to 35 minutes, make sure to gently toss them 2 to 3 times. they should be tender and golden brown. If they get done before you are ready to serve the casserole you can keep them warm in the oven with the heat turned off. OR they are still good cold.
- SAUCE:
- Heat a large heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat (I suggest a cast iron skillet if you are going to serve the casserole in the skillet it’s cooked in), Melt the butter then add the onions and a pinch of salt. Saute until the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Add half of the mushrooms to the pan stirring until they are mostly browned and have shrunk down in size. Then add the remainder of the mushrooms and saute until browned – about 8 minutes total.
- While the mushrooms are cooking make the cashew sauce: Drain the cashews from their soaking liquid. To a high speed blender add the cashews, chicken stock, corn starch, salt, nutmeg, and black pepper. Blend on high for one minute. Rub a little of the sauce between your fingers, it should be completely smooth, if it’s not blend longer. (Note: I have left suggestions below on how to ensure your sauce is smooth if you don’t have a high speed blender)
- Returning to the skillet add the garlic, saute for 1 minute. Then pour in the cashew sauce, increase the heat to medium high and allow the sauce to come to a simmer and thicken, about 3 minutes.
- At this point taste the sauce and adjust seasoning adding more salt and/or pepper as needed.
- Drain any excess water from the frozen green beans. Stir them into the sauce. Allow them to heat for a few minutes.
- Top the casserole with the onion straws. Serve immediately.
Notes
*I used frozen green beans to make the cooking process go faster. However, if you really want to make this casserole special I suggest using fresh green beans that have been blanched for 1 minute. You could also sub the equivalent to 1 1/2 pounds canned green beans, probably about 2 to 3 cans – if you must.
To blanch fresh green beans: Trim the beans and cut into 1 inch pieces. Bring a medium sized pot of salted water to a boil. Once the water has come to a boil add the green beans, allow them to boil for 30 seconds to a minute, they will turn bright green in color. Drain them from the water and immediately add them to an ice bath (a bowl of water filled with ice cubes) this will stop the beans from cooking further. Allow them to sit in the ice bath for 1 minute. Drain and follow the recipe as instructed above.
For the cashew sauce: It is best to use a high speed blender to ensure that the sauce is ultra smooth. However, if you do not have a high speed blender then try straining the cashew sauce trough a fine mesh siv to separate any tiny pieces of cashew left behind. If you do this you will want to add the spices in after straining.
TIME SAVING TIPS:
-make the cashew sauce up to 2 days in advance. Store in fridge, covered until ready to use.
-If using fresh green beans you can trim them up to 2 days in advance, store in an air tight container in the fridge.
– Blanch green beans the morning of, or up to 6 hours before using. Store in fridge.
-chop the 1/2 onion used for the sauce (not the onions straws) up to 1 day in advance. store in an airtight container or bag in the fridge.
-slice the mushrooms up to 1 day in advance. Store in an air tight container in the fridge.
Although the leftover casserole does reheat nicely, I recommend serving it to guests immediately, the sauce is best when it’s freshly heated.
Cook time does not include time required to soak the cashews.
Onion straw method adapted from Alton Brown
Sauce recipe adapted from Hot For Food
